Struggling to stay logged in. Will give Windows a try. May have to go to Verison on my phone.
Anyway, was trying to write about our weekend in Kalama, Washington.

Putin Plays Chess, Trump Plays Golf

Chess requires thinking a few moves ahead in multiple scenarios. Golf requires playing the ball where it lays. You don't think about the next hole you will play. That may explain Trump's shoot from the hip style. It has been interesting to hear all the different predictions this week about the Trump-Putin summit. Generally speaking, it came off better than I thought. May be Trump will get his coveted piss prize. Meanwhile western Asia is as volatile as ever with many predicting another Israeli strike on Iran. I wonder why the Donald is so concerned about the death in Ukraine, but doesn't seem phased by all the death in Palestine. Maybe brown people don't count?

Afternoon folks!

This week we've got some great stuff especially for guitar fans. Starting out we have a live album from New Orleans blues guitarist Snooks Eaglin, followed by a compilation of Chicago blues harmonica player Billy Boy Arnold's early recordings. After that we have another live album from Fleetwood Mac back when they were a blues band featuring Peter Green on guitar. After that it's on to some live rockabilly with Robert Gordon and Danny Gatton and we finish up in the bluegrass lane with a couple of sets from Old & In The Way featuring Jerry Garcia on the banjo along with Vassar Clements, Peter Rowan, David Grisman and John Kahn.

Enjoy the tunes and have a great weekend!

Good morning, good people!

I read somewhere that seven companies are adding crickets to their flour. Careful with your baking mixes. We ain't in Martha White territory no more!

Federal politics in America has always been about class warfare. The Founding Fathers were, for the most part, rich land owners. In most states only white male land owners over 21 could vote. This persisted through the early 1800s, but by the 1820s was no longer common. North Carolina was the last state to remove the property requirement in 1856.

Senators were elected by the legislatures of their respective states until 1913 when the Seventeenth Amendment was ratified. This was another way that the wealthy retained power. After the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment Senators were elected by the constituents of the states. This was a good step towards equity, but there were other ways to twist the system in favor of the monied class.

It was set up as a good old boy's club and pretty much remains that way to the present with the addition of some good old girls as well. Sure, some less than wealthy candidates occasionally get elected, but by and large, they don't remain that way for long. We've all seen how some elected officials come into office with a modicum of wealth and within a few years have accumulated a rather large nest egg, much more than what their annual salary justifies. The longer they serve the larger the larder.